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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Blue Origin | SpaceX | CNSA |
| Prime contractor | Blue Origin | SpaceX | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) |
| Status | In development | In development | Landed |
| Customer | NASA-CLPS | NASA-HLS | CNSA |
| Launch date | 2026-07 (NET) | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) | 2024-05-03 |
| Landing date | — | — | 2024-06-01 |
| Landing site | Lunar south pole region | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) | Apollo crater, South Pole-Aitken Basin (lunar far side) |
| Payload | 3,000 kg surface payload capacity (21,350 kg wet lander mass) (2026-05-28) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) | 1,935.3 g of lunar far-side regolith returned to Earth (2024-06-25) |
| Contract value | — | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) | — |
| Outcome | First flight test of Blue Moon Mark 1. Carries NASA CLPS Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies + Laser Retroreflective Array. Targets 100 m landing precision. Lander completed full-scale thermal-vacuum testing at NASA Plum Brook (Armstrong Test Facility) May 2026. | Selected April 2021 as sole HLS provider for Artemis III. Architecture requires Super Heavy launch + multiple Starship tanker refueling flights in LEO + transit to NRHO + rendezvous with Orion (SLS). NASA OIG IG-26-004 (March 2026) flagged crew-rescue capability as open risk. October 2025: NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy reopened Artemis III lander contract to competition due to Starship development pace. | First-ever sample return from the lunar far side and the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Used the Queqiao-2 relay satellite for far-side comms. Samples revealed unexpectedly cohesive grain behavior and excavated material from the Moon's mantle. |
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